This disclosure relates to integrated circuit devices, and more specifically, to a method and structure to fabricate an advanced, packaged antenna structure for a portable device.
Wireless communication devices require integrated antennas with the appropriate antenna characteristics, e.g., high efficiency, wide bandwidth, good radiation characteristics, and so forth. One challenge is to provide such characteristics while also providing low cost and reliable packaging solutions. Antenna packaging requires the use of high-precision fabrication technologies so that fine antenna features can be implemented in the package structure. Prior art solutions are typically use complex and costly packaging technologies, which are lossy and/or utilize high dielectric constant materials.
For consumer applications, high performance package designs with integrated antennas are not typically required. However, for other applications, e.g., 5G cell tower applications, high performance antenna packages are required and typically involve large phased arrays of antennas. Designing high performance packages with phased array antennas is nontrivial for millimeter wave operating frequencies and higher. Conventional surface-wave suppressing methods in antenna designs cannot be used in phased array antenna packages as the additional structures used for suppressing surface waves occupy too much space, so there is no room to implement them. Moreover, other factors make it difficult to implement and package advanced phased array antenna systems.
The present disclosure presents an advanced packaging approach for high performance antennas.